Z-plus security cover for former Army chief General V K Singh withdrawn

Dec 27, 2012, 12.27AM ISTTNN

Government sources said the decision to withdraw all security provided to Gen Singh, who retired on May 31, from December 1 was taken after a home ministry review last month held there was "no threat perception" against the former Army chief.

NEW DELHI: The government has stripped former Army chief General V K Singh — who had waged a messy battle while in office with the defence ministry over his age and is now actively taking part in protests over corruption, the Delhi gang rape and other issues — of his Z-plus security cover.

Government sources said the decision to withdraw all security provided to Gen Singh, who retired on May 31, from December 1 was taken after a home ministry review last month held there was "no threat perception" against the former Army chief.

"Normally, all retiring Army chiefs get Z-plus security for six months. It continues after that only if the threat perception is high. Gen Singh will, however, continue to stay in his government accommodation in Delhi Cantonment for six more months since he had earlier sought and obtained permission for it from defence minister A K Antony," a source said.

As a Z-plus protectee, Gen Singh had around 30-35 Army personnel providing him "proximate security" round-the-clock in shifts as well as six to seven vehicles including the main bullet-proof one. While these have now been withdrawn, as also the Delhi Police outer cover, he will continue to get a "few sahayaks and secretarial staff" as a former Army chief.

Ever since he retired earlier this year, Gen Singh has been participating in several street campaigns and rallies against the government, particularly those led by Anna Hazare, and has even called for the dissolution of Parliament.

This had provoked some to question Gen Singh's actions as a "political activist" while continuing to stay in government accommodation with a heavy-duty security cover. His supporters, however, contend that opposition leaders also get government accommodation and security cover.

Gen Singh and yoga guru Baba Ramdev were also among the seven named in an FIR by Delhi Police for allegedly inciting a crowd to march from Jantar Mantar to India Gate to protest against the gang rape in Delhi despite police restrictions.

In an indication of the extent to which Gen Singh had rattled the government while in office can be gauged from the fact that Antony -- on the day the former chief retired -- had urged the military brass and the civilian bureaucracy to shed their "bitterness" and work closely together now.

Antony had then admitted that the last six to eight months of the tenure of Gen Singh, who became the first serving military chief to drag the government to court over his date of birth controversy, was a "turbulent phase, an aberration" that must not be carried forward.

Since then, new Army chief Gen Bikram Singh has ordered the shutting down of the Army's Technical Support Division (TSD), which reported directly to his predecessor and was accused of clandestinely tapping the telephones of top defence ministry officials during his prolonged stand-off with the government earlier this year, as earlier reported by TOI.